A CBI Survey Has Called For Greater Government Urgency over Infrastructure

By Cynthia Taylor

A survey by CBI a lobby group and KPMG chartered accountants has revealed that improvements to infrastructure in the sectors which included energy, transport and water are not happening fast enough.

Businesses are looking to see greater urgency from government with regard to delivery on the ground. The report called Better Connected, Better Business was published today.

The response from 568 business leaders during the months of June and July, have identified that transport is of the greatest concern and almost ¾ of the companies are not expecting any improvement to the transport infrastructure over the next five years.

Approximately 2/3rd of the businesses believe that the energy and water infrastructure in the UK is also unlikely to get any better; this is because of the uncertainty about policy framework.

Companies are more positive with regard to digital infrastructure where most of the companies see improvement over the last five years and also in the next five years.

A recent snap poll has suggested that about 60% of businesses think that the UK Guarantees Scheme will boost investment and also kick start infrastructure projects.

CBI’s director general, John Cridland has said that the government understands how important infrastructure is to the economy. The framework is in place but the government needs to show it is able to deliver on the ground.

Businesses see the new UK Guarantees as a positive, however, companies fear that initiative overload, and are thus becoming impatient with delivery, that leaves many companies skeptical about the overall impact on their investments.

The report today is the 2nd annual assessment by KPMG and CBI on infrastructure in the UK and the impact on business investment, competitiveness decisions.